Angelina Jolie’s Tomb Raider Movies Are Leaving Netflix

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If you want to watch the Angelina Jolie film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and its sequel, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life, you’ll need to do so soon! Both movies are leaving Netflix on January 1st.

Video game movies are having a moment, recently achieving huge success with several blockbusters. But it was Angelina Jolie’s role as Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider movies, released 24 years ago, that really paved the way for all video game adaptations. Her performance set the standard for how these films could be made.

The film earned $274.7 million worldwide, becoming the most successful video game movie adaptation at the time. It held that record for almost ten years, until Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time earned $336.3 million and took the top spot in May 2010.

The first Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was such a huge hit that Paramount Pictures immediately greenlit a sequel. Unfortunately, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life didn’t perform as well, bringing in only $160.1 million at the box office. This meant it wouldn’t be followed by another film, and Angelina Jolie wouldn’t reprise her role as Lara Croft again.

Both the video game and movie versions of Tomb Raider were significantly reimagined in the 2010s. The films were specifically based on the 2013 reboot of the game by Crystal Dynamics. While Alicia Vikander’s portrayal of Lara Croft received a positive reception, plans for future films featuring her have been cancelled, and a new direction for the franchise is being explored.

Although still in development, the Prime Video series Tomb Raider is attracting a talented cast. Alongside Turner, and have also joined the project.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Set the Bar for Video Game Adaptations

Before Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, most video game movies hadn’t done well in theaters. While animated Pokémon films had found some success, turning live-action games into good movies had been a real challenge.

The early 1990s saw a surge in popularity for fighting games, and movies like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat benefited from this trend. Street Fighter was the first video game movie to earn over $100 million domestically, totaling $124.7 million. However, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was a much bigger hit, more than doubling Mortal Kombat‘s earnings and proving that video game movies could be incredibly successful. It set the standard for all video game adaptations that followed in the early 2000s.

Simon West directed the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Angelina Jolie stars as Lara Croft, and the movie also features Jon Voight, Iain Glen, Noah Taylor, and Daniel Craig.

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Barry Sonnenfeld didn’t direct the second film; Jan de Bont took over, and he later stopped directing movies altogether. Angelina Jolie starred alongside Noah Tayler, who was also in the first film, as well as Gerard Butler, Ciarán Hinds, Djimon Hounsou, Til Schweiger, and Christopher Barrie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life.

I was so excited to see that both Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life are on Netflix right now! But unfortunately, they’re leaving on January 1st, so I’m definitely planning a movie marathon before they’re gone!

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2025-12-25 23:10